


The Mermaid's Love

by Thefemalearrow



Category: Onward (2020)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Beauty and the Beast Fusion, Arranged Marriage, Homesickness, Hurricanes & Typhoons, Lesbian Character, Merpeople, Multi, Ocean, Pansexual Character, Rating May Change, Self-Sacrifice, Stockholm Syndrome
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-03
Updated: 2020-07-11
Packaged: 2021-03-05 00:14:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 5,480
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25045216
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Thefemalearrow/pseuds/Thefemalearrow
Summary: A beauty and the beast AU in which a mermaid falls in love with a certain elf wizard.
Relationships: Colt Bronco/Laurel Lightfoot, Corey | The Manticore (Onward)/Laurel Lightfoot, Ian Lightfoot/Original Character(s)
Comments: 6
Kudos: 7





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I've always wanted to see a gender-bent Beauty and the Beast so I decided to write one.

Lana would never forget the first time she saw him. She was hanging out near the shore when she saw a wizard, whose name she would later find out was Ian, fighting a dragon. She hadn't seen someone use magic in years. She wanted to go and talk to him, but she couldn't since she was a mermaid and forever bound to the ocean.  
That day was two months ago. He had visited the beach a few times with his friends. Lana's friend, Harmony, would always get her when Ian arrived. They would hide near the rocks and watch him. Harmony would always encourage her to go and talk to him, but Lana was always too scared to even say hi.  
The longer Ian spent at the beach, the more Lana fell in love with him. She decided one day they would be together. She was convinced he was her soulmate and they were made for each other. She would have him at any cost.  
\---  
It was a Friday after school. Ian was grabbing his things from his locker when his friends approached him. "Are you going to Jessalyn's beach party tonight?" Sadalia asked.  
"I am," Ian said. Parties weren't Ian's thing, but ever since he made friends with Sadalia and the others, he started to step out of his shell more. "Can I get a ride with one of you?"  
"You can get a ride with me," Athlea offered. "We live in the same neighborhood so I'll stop by your house. Just be ready by eight."  
"What should I wear?" Ian asked.  
"I recommend a t-shirt and some swim trunks," Gurge said. "That's what I always wear to these kinds of parties."  
"Ok, I'll see you guys at eight," Ian said. The friends then parted ways and Ian went to the parking lot. He saw that Barley was already waiting for him so he went over to the van and climbed in.  
\---  
That night, Athlea and Ian arrived at the beach. The beach was already crowded with a bunch of their classmates, but they managed to find their group. "Hey guys," Athlea said.  
"Hello," Sadalia said. They then sit down in a circle and start talking. After about ten minutes, Parthenope stood up.  
"I'm bored, do you guys want to go into the ocean?" Parthenope asked.  
"Sure," Ian said. The rest of the group agreed and they took off their cover-ups, leaving them in swimsuits. Ian decided to keep on his shirt. The gang had seen him shirtless before, but he was still embarrassed to be shirtless in front of everyone else.  
They then run into the ocean. Once the water was about to their chest, they stopped walking and settled into the water. They started to splash each other. "I heard next weekend we're going to be seeing twenty-foot waves," Gurge said.  
"Do you think there is going to be another hurricane?" Athlea said.  
"I hope not," Gurge said. "We've already missed too much school this year since, you know, the school turned into a dragon. If we want a summer break, we can't miss anymore school."  
Sadalia then saw a large wave that would cause a wipeout was approaching them. She altered the others and they started ruining towards the shore. Once they were almost out of the water, Ian tripped over something and he couldn't get up in time. The wave hit him and Ian was dragged underwater. He tried to swim back to the surface, but he couldn't. He saw a young woman around his age swim over to him before he blacked out.


	2. Chapter 2

Lana saw the man she loves almost drown. She knew it would be so easy to claim him right here as her mate, but she wanted him to come to her on his own free will. So she took him back to the shore, much to the dismay of Harmony. She swam back to her best friend. "What's wrong?" Lana asked.  
"I can't believe you let him go again," Harmony said, with a roll of her eyes.  
"I want to come to me on his own free will," Lana shrugged. Harmony then got an idea.  
"It hurts me to see you always throw away your shot with that boy every time," Harmony said. "I'm going to make sure you get that boy. I will even follow your request of him coming on his own free will. You just have to sit still and look pretty."  
"Thank you, I need all of the help I can get," Lana said.  
"I know," Harmony replied.  
\---  
Laurel was at the Manticorn's Cavern, waiting for Colt. It was there one year anniversary and Laurel was excited about it. Colt had been very busy lately so Laurel was excited about this date. Her phone then vibrated and Laurel's mood went from happy to disappointed.  
Colt: Hey babe. I'm so sorry but I'm going to have to take a rain check for tonight. We have a robbery on Adventure Way Road. We'll reschedule and I'll take you somewhere special. I love you.  
Laurel let out a sad sigh. Corey the Manticorn walked over to her table with some breadsticks. "I think I'm going to take my meal to go," Laurel sighed. "Colt canceled again."  
"Do you think he's cheating?" Corey asked. Laurel didn't know how to respond. She thought that Colt loved her, but he seemed to have a wandering eye. He had become pretty close with his co-worker, Officer Pandora Bore. She wasn't the kind of person to jump to conclusions, but she had caught him wrapping his arm around her.  
"I hope not," was all Laurel could say.  
"Poor thing," Corey said, in a sympathetic tone. "Look, Laurel, you're a total ten, and if Colt can't see that, dump in. You will find someone who will treat you better."  
"Thank you," Laurel said.  
"No problem," Corey said, with a smile. "What do you want for dinner? I'll even throw in a free dessert."  
Laurel ordered dinner for her and Barley. She told Barley she would bring him something home for dinner. Ian said he was going to have dinner at the party. Corey nods and walks away.  
\---  
A week later, the hurricane was about to make land. The mermaids weren't doing their job, which would lead to the destruction of New Mushroomtown since it was a category five. It was going to make landfall in two days.  
Ian was laying in bed one night when he got a visitor in his dreams. He saw a mermaid sitting at the edge of his bed. "Hi Ian," the girl said. "I'm Harmony and we need to chat."  
"Who are you and why are you in my house?" Ian asked.  
"My name is Harmony," the girl said. "I'm not in your house. I'm astral projecting from the ocean. Now onto what I came here to talk about. Do you know it only takes one mermaid to stop a hurricane?"  
"I didn't know that," Ian said. "I thought it was a combined effort."  
"That's just what we say to get people off our back," Harmony explained. "If we make it out that stopping storms is this big deal we believe you guys will rely on us less."  
"That makes sense," Ian said.  
"I'm glad you think so," Harmony said. She hoped this acting lessons she took were finally going to pay off. "So all of the mermaids decided their not going to stop this hurricane so the town will be destroyed. They have secretly been hating you, land dwellers."  
"Really?" Ian asked. "They were so nice when I interacted with them at the beach. They even brought me and my friends' snacks sometimes."  
"It's called acting honey," Harmony says, in a slight whisper. "Anyways, I can stop the hurricane if you want, but I only have one condition."  
"And that is?" Ian asked.  
"My friend has seen you at the beach a few times," Harmony explained. "She thinks you're super hot and funny. Her name is Lana and she wants you to be her mate. This means you'll have to leave your old life behind and live in the ocean. But everyone you love will be safe."  
Ian thought about it for a few moments. He then remembered how bad the hurricane looked on the news. "Give me a few hours and I'll meet you at the beach," Ian promised.


	3. Chapter 3

Barley was confused when someone knocked on his bedroom door at three in the mourning. He opened it and saw his little brother. "Hey Ian," he said. "What's up?"  
"Hey Barley," Ian said, as Barley rubbed his eyes. "I just want you to know that I love you and I've always thought of you as a father figure. And I want you to not worry about me. I'm going to be ok."  
"Ok," Barley whispered. "You're kinda scaring me."  
"Don't be scared," Ian said. "I'm going to be ok. It will all make sense soon. I'm going to head back to bed. Goodnight."  
"Night," Barley said. He then shut his door and got back into his bed. He tried to go back to sleep, but he had a bad feeling that was preventing him from sleeping. His phone then vibrated. He had received a text from one of Ian's friends.  
Sadalia: Have you seen Ian? He just sent me a text that sounded he was saying goodbye forever.  
Gurge: He sent me the same text. Barley, do you know what is going on?  
Barley: He just stopped by my room and he said some weird things. I'm going to try to catch him and get to the bottom of this.  
Barley then ran downstairs and he didn't see Ian, but he saw a mermaid sitting on the couch, drinking something out of a wine glass. "Don't try and stop him," she said. "Just let it happen."  
"Let what happen?" Barley asked.  
"Your brother made a deal with my niece, Harmony," the woman explained. "Harmony's best friend was in love with your brother, so she said she'll stop the storm if he agrees to marry her friend."  
"I have to stop him," Barley said.  
"You can't, you just have to let it happen or else New Mushroomtown will be destroyed," she said. Barley didn't listen and he ran to his bedroom. He quickly got dressed and alerted everyone about what was going on. He then ran outside and got into his car and drove to the beach.  
\---  
Ian arrived at the beach. He saw Harmony was sitting on the rocks. "I'm ready," Ian said.  
"Good, I'm going to cast a spell on you that will make you breathe underwater," Harmony said. She then said something in the old merpeople language. Ian felt something weird pressing against his hoodie. He pulled up his hoodie and saw he now had gills on his stomach.  
"Ok, let's go," Ian said. He then started to walk towards the sea, his old life flashing before his eye.  
"Stop," a familiar voice shouted. Ian turned around and saw his brother. He then noticed that his family and friends were also there. Ian wondered how in the world they knew what he was doing.  
"Don't do this," Sadalia said.  
"I have to do this or New Mushroomtown will be destroyed," Ian shouted. "If there was another way around this, I would take it, but there isn't another way around it."  
"You have your entire life ahead of you," Parthenope yelled. "Don't throw it all away. Also, I'll miss you and stuff like that. I'm sorry I'm terrible when it comes to sharing my emotions."  
"Look, I'm not forcing you to come with me," Harmony explained. "You can come with me and be my friend's mate, or you could go home and watch the destruction from your living room."  
"I'll do it," Ian said. His friends and family started to protest as they disappeared into the ocean, leaving the group in a state of shock.


	4. Chapter 4

Ian and Harmony arrived at the underwater kingdom. "Lana's house is this way," Harmony said. She showed him to a modern house that was two stories. Harmony knocked on the door. "I'm back!"  
A mermaid with strawberry blonde hair and hazel eyes opened the door. She was surprised when she saw the elf in front of her. "Ian, this is my friend, Lana," Harmony introduced. "Now, Lana, did your girl deliver, or did she deliver?"  
"Hey," Ian said, awkwardly.  
"Hello," Lana stated, with the same level of awkwardness. She then turned to Harmony. "What did you do? How did you get him to come with you even though you're a total stranger?"  
"I told him that I'll stop the hurricane if he becomes your mate," Harmony explained. "Before you say anything, I kept your request that he comes on his own free will. I gave him a choice and he said yes. He even said yes in front of his pleading friends and family."  
"That is very manipulative," Lana scolded.  
"But it worked and he could have chosen not to go," Harmony added. "Now, I'm a mermaid of my word. I'm going to stop the hurricane while you two catch. I'll check on you guys in about an hour."  
Harmony swims away when Ian goes inside the house. They sit on the couch and are silent for a few minutes. "My parents are at work," Lana said, trying to break the silence.  
"Ok," Ian said.  
"I'm seventeen by the way," Lana said. Ian was relieved when he heard that. "Look, I love you but I don't want to do anything before your comfortable. You can choose when we have the mating ceremony, or what you earth walkers call a wedding ceremony. I would prefer it happen before the new year, though."  
"Thanks," Ian said. Lana nodded. "Do your parents know what's going on?"  
"Harmony told me that she told my parents," Lana answered. "I'll show you to your room."  
She took him upstairs and lead him to a bedroom. The walls were painted a dark shade of blue and it had a split level floor that led to a queen-sized bed. He smiled when he saw that a wizard staff was leaning against a desk.  
"Do you like it?" Lana asked. "It used to be my brother's room, but he moved to Atlantis for college."  
"Yeah," Ian said. Lana then saw that the staff caught his attention.  
"I thought you'd like to still be able to do magic," Lana explained. "It was the closest thing I felt I could do to make you feel less homesick. I couldn't get your dad's. but I got a close replica."  
"That was a nice addition," Ian said. He sat on the bed,  
"How about I fix us a snack and we play twenty questions?" Lana suggested.  
"Sounds good," Ian said. Lana then left the bedroom as Ian noticed a large window. It showed him the beautiful ocean floor. If the situation was different, he would enjoy the view more.  
\---  
Laurel took the day off of work. She was watching the news and saw that the hurricane was gone. She talked with Colt earlier for comfort, but he left the moment Officer Gore called him. She saw that Pandora had a heart emoji by her name on Colt's contact list. So she sat on the couch while Barley was upstairs reading everything he could on mermaids.  
Corey entered the house. "I came as soon as I could," Corey shouted.  
"I'm so glad that you decided to stop by," Laurel said as the two of them shared a hug. Corey had become a source of comfort ever since her and Colt's relationship problems began.  
"I wish I had more information to give you, but mermaids are very secretive creatures," Corey sighed. "They're almost as secretive as the Drows of the northern forest."  
"It's ok, you're doing enough by just being here," Laurel promised. At that moment, she realized she loved Corey, but not as a friend. She had never felt like this towards another woman before and it kind of scared her.  
Laurel pulled away from the hug. "Do you want anything to eat?" Laurel asked.  
"Just a glass of water will do," Corey said. Laurel stepped into the kitchen and got Corey a glass of water. She handed the Manticorn the drink and Corey quickly downed it. "Thanks."  
"No problem," Laurel said. They sat on the couch as Laurel tried to figure out her true feeling for Corey.


	5. Chapter 5

It's been a week since Ian made the sacrifice. Ian and Lana weren't making any progress in their relationship. Harmony became fed up and decided to take it into her own hands. They were sitting in her room. "So, how are you going to make Ian fall in love with me?" Lana asked.  
"Give him this," Harmony explained. She handed her an antique, silver hand mirror. "This mirror will make you see who you wish to see. He will be able to see his friends and family, making him less homesick."  
"Thank you, I'll give it to him now," Lana said. She then swam into the house and went to Ian's room. He was laying on his bed, watching a show that Lana didn't recognize. "Hey, Ian. I have a gift for you."  
"Thanks," Ian said. She then handed him the mirror.  
"This mirror will let you see who you want to see," Lana explained. Ian thanked her before saying he wished to see Sadalia. She was at cheerleading practice. She was standing at the top of the cheerleading pyramid. Ian smiled softly.  
"Is that your girlfriend?" Lana asked.  
"No, she's just a good friend," Ian said. Sadalia had tried to make the moves on Ian before, but Ian rejected her in a plight way. He always thought of her as just a friend. "I wish to see Barley."  
He then saw Barley, a bunch of empty coffee mugs around him. It was clear he hadn't slept in a long time. "There has to be away," Barley said, in a tired voice. "There has to be away to get him back."  
He then saw that he was reading books on mermaids. She noticed Ian had tears welling up in his eyes so she took that as her cue to leave. She went to her room to make a plan b.  
\---  
Laurel walked into Colt's house and she heard something upstairs. She went to Colt's room and saw him in bed with Gore. "Babe," Laurel said, in horror. This caught the attention of Colt. She had tears streaming down her face and she left the bedroom. Colt got dressed and followed her.  
"Babe it's not what it looks like," Colt called out.  
"So I didn't just catch you in bed with Officer Gore," Laurel said turning around. Tears were now going down her face more rapidly. "I don't want to hear your excuse. We're done. You can pick up your stuff from my house tomorrow."  
Laurel then got into her car and started to drive away. She went to The Manticorn's Cavern. Corey was the only person who could comfort her at the moment. She then went into the cavern. Corey saw her. "I'm going to take a five-minute break," Corey announced.  
Corey then led Laurel to her break room. "I went to surprise Colt with lunch since it's his day off," Laurel explained. "I caught him in bed with another woman."  
"Laurel I'm so sorry," Corey said, pulling to her into a hug. Corey comforted her as Laurel sobbed. About ten minutes later, she calmed down. She then kissed her on the lips quickly.  
"Sorry, I just had to," Laurel said, before leaving.


	6. Chapter 6

Ian was laying in his bed. Today he felt the most homesick since today he usually went to the beach with his friends. He thought about swimming there to say hello, but he was informed he had to cut off all ties to his old life.  
He sighed as Lana entered the room. "Hey Ian," Lana said.  
"Hi," Ian said.  
"What do you want to do today?" Lana asked. "I was thinking I can show you around the town, or if you want, we can head to the beach and people watch? The ladder is my favorite activity."  
"Harmony said I'm not allowed to go to the beach," Ian said.  
"What she knows won't hurt anyone," Lana said playfully. "Also, she can't control you and well be fine as long as no one sees us. We do it all the time. So do you want to?"  
"Sure," Ian answered. They then start to swim towards the beach. They arrive ten minutes later and hang out near the rocks. Ian spotted his friends. Sadalia was sunbathing, Gurge and Parthenope were splashing each other in the water, and Althea was playing volleyball with someone Ian didn't recognize.  
"I won't snitch if you want to you can go say hi," Lana whispered.  
"I don't want to potentially break the rules of the agreement," Ian whispered. He was scared that Harmony would find out and bring back the hurricane. He wanted desperately to go and say hi, but he couldn't.  
\---  
Sadalia moved her sunglasses down to her nose and stared at her friends. "Have you found anything from the mermaid colony?" Sadalia called out.  
"No," Gurge asked. "I think we'll have to go deeper into the ocean to find anything on that. Maybe we should just give up so we can try and enjoy ourselves. He's only been in our lives for about two months."  
"But he's our friend," Sadalia said.  
"Doesn't mean we should spend all of our time looking for him," Parthenope said.  
"Whatever, I'm going for a walk," Sadalia said. She stood up and walked near the rocks. She sees something in the water and saw a head of electric blue hair. "Ian? Is that you?"  
The head then disappears. "No, come back," Sadalia called out. She jumped into the water and looks for him. She frowned as she couldn't see anything. She swam to the shore and rejoined her friends, deciding to not say anything about what she saw.  
\---  
Ian and Lana arrived back at her house. "I had a great time today," Ian said.  
"Me too," Lana agreed. She took him to his room. Ian kissed her on the cheek.  
"Thanks for that," Ian said. He then enters the bedroom as Lana let out an excited scream. She goes to her room and screams happily into her pillow, knowing this was good for their relationship.


	7. Chapter 7

Laurel was meeting with her sister, Floe for coffee at their favorite coffee shop, The Mystic Bean. "My life is a mess," Laurel confessed. "Colt cheated on me and I'm starting to develop feelings for Corey. We shared a kiss, and that's the least of my problems. I can't get Barley to sleep and he's starting to get sick and I don't even know how Ian is doing because he's being forced into a marriage."  
"I wish I could give you advice on what to do with Barley and Ian, but I've never had to deal with anything like that," Floe explained. "All I can say is give Barley some medicine that will make him fall asleep. For what happened with Corey, why don't you ask her on a date?"  
"I don't know if she likes women though," Laurel said. "I'm still trying to figure out my feelings."  
"You'll never know if you don't try," Floe said.  
"You're right," Laurel said, a smile crossing her face. They finished up their coffees and go their separate ways. Laurel goes home and notices that Barley was sitting in the living room, hardly staying awake.  
"A bounding spell can be broken when you make a cocktail that has dead dragons daisies..." Barley said, before noticing his mom was home. "Hey, mom. Do you know where I can get a dragon daisy?"  
"No, sorry sweetie," Laurel said. "I'm going to get you some water and medicine for your headache."  
"That would be awesome, thank you," Barley said, in a drowsy voice. Laurel walked into the kitchen and fixed Barley a glass of water. She put the medicine in the drink and took it to Barley. He downed the glass of water and Laurel led him upstairs. She led him to his room and laid him in his bed. She then left his bedroom.  
Laurel went to her room and she called Cory. "Hey Laurel, how are you doing?" Corey asked.  
"I'm hanging in there," Laurel said. "I was wondering if you wanted to get dinner tomorrow night?"  
"Of course," Corey said. They went over the plans for the date and Laurel hung up the phone. Now she just had to focus on getting Ian back.  
\---  
A few weeks later, Ian woke up to Lana screaming happily. "Happy one month anniversary, Ian," Lana shouted. Ian rubbed his eyes as he sat up. "I know we don't have an official title on our relationship, but he can still celebrate."  
"Happy anniversary," Ian said, sitting up. He thought he had been here for a shorter amount of time than a month. She gave him a glowing orb.  
"You make a wish and I'm contractually obligated to make it happen," Lana said, with a smile. What Ian said next Lana wasn't ready for. She could have passed out from the anxiety that was building up in her. This could break their relationship.  
"I wish to see my family and friends," Ian said.


	8. Chapter 8

Lana stared at Barley in shock. "Are you sure that's what you want the most?" Lana asked. "How about a new phoenix stone?"  
"I just want to see them," Ian sighed. "And not threw the mirror. I want to sit and talk to them. How about this, if you let me see them, the wedding can be whenever you want."  
"Whenever I want?" Lana asked with a smirk. Ian nods, regretting his offer for a split second, but he knew it was too late to go back on it now. "How does tomorrow sound? We can have a small ceremony and start our life together."  
Ian sighs. "Sounds good," Ian said. "Deal?"  
"Deal," Lana said, happily.  
\---  
Sadalia and her friends often found themselves at Ian's house to help Barley with his research. Barley was trying to stay awake since he hadn't slept in two weeks. Laurel entered the room. "We just got a letter," she said.  
"Read it allowed," Barley yawned.  
"You are invited to the one-month anniversary party of Ian Lightfoot and Lana," Laurel read aloud.  
"Is this some kind of cruel joke?" Gurge asked. They were then teleported to the bottom of the ocean. They head air bubbles on their head so they can breathe. They stared at each other in confusion.  
"Hey guys," Ian said.  
"Ian," Sadalia shouts. They then share a group hug and then enter the house. About an hour into the party, Lana motioned to Ian to tell them about the upcoming wedding. Ian awkwardly got their attention.  
"I would like to invite you guys to our wedding," Ian said.  
"Ok," Parthenope said. Lana nudged towards Ian to finish giving them the details about the wedding.  
"And the wedding is tomorrow," Ian blurted out. He was then bombarded with questions and being begged for him not to do it. Sadalia asked him if he actually loved her, leading to more questions. Ian was under too much pressure and blurted out, "No! I don't love her!"  
The room then went silent. Lana felt her heart being ripped out of her chest and tears started to stream down her face. "Lana I," Ian started before he was interrupted.  
"I want them out of my house," Lana said, coldly. "I never want to see them again."  
"You can't bare me from seeing my brother," Barley snapped.  
"I'm his family now," Lana said, coldly. Barley then started to shout at Lana, with her responding coldly every few sentences. Her voice slowly started to raise. She eventually got a violent look in her eyes. Ian tried to break up the argument, but Lana accidentally smacked him. Lana stared at him in shock as he fell to the ground. She couldn't believe she hurt the man she loves.  
"Leave," Lana said, tears streaming down her face. "That includes you, Ian."  
"Lana wait," Ian shouted before she snapped her fingers, sending them to the beach. She then went to her bedroom. She laid in her bed and started to sob into her pillow, realizing she was alone, and she might be alone forever.


	9. Chapter 9

Three weeks had passed since Ian returned home. He tried to get his life back to normal, but it was hard. Oddly enough, he started to look back at his time with Lana fondly. He kept this to himself so he wouldn't alarm the others.  
Ian was hanging out at the mall with his friends. It was a Monday, but there wasn't school that day since it was a teacher workday. They were having lunch at the food quart. "You ok, Ian?" Sadalia asked. "You haven't been yourself lately."  
"Yeah I'm fine," Ian lied.  
"Ok, I'm going to ask it if no one else is going to ask it," Gurge said. Sadalia looked like she was about to stop him, making it clear they had discussed this before. "How does mermaid sex work?"  
"Gurge, I said if you ask that I'll tell them what happened at Amy's party," Sadalia scolded.  
"Wait, what happened at Amy's party?" Althea asked. Sadalia started to recount what happened that night when Ian spoke up.  
"It's ok," Ian said, awkwardly. They then turn to Ian, not expecting that to be his reaction. "I never was told what that was like, or experienced it. Lana didn't really seem to focus on the mating part of me becoming her mate."  
"What is does it mean to be someone's mate exactly?" Gurge asked.  
"It's the mermaid version of being husband and wife," Ian explained. "Lana is actually very sweet and never pressured me into anything. She even let me choose the wedding date before I traded it in so I can see you guys."  
"Ian, I think you're in love," Sadalia realized.  
"This isn't love," Parthenope said. "She was his captor. She was killing him slowly with kindness. Just like in that movie 'Beauty and the Beast.' This is a classic case of Stockholm syndrome."  
"She wasn't really the one holding me captive," Ian said. "She let me do anything I want and even said I should say hey to you guys when you were at the beach. It was really Harmony, her best friend, holding me hostage."  
Sadalia then stood up. "If you love her, then let's go to the beach and tell her," she said. Ian smiled and they look at each the others. Gurge and Althea seemed pumped for the idea, but Parthenope seemed skeptical.  
"I think what you two had was unhealthy," Parthenope said. "She forced you to leave your friends and family. She even laid her hands-on you in a violent way."  
"She hit me on accident," Ian said. "But she was very kind to me and we actually had fun together. She helped me with my magic and showed me the mermaid world."  
"Ian, I don't fully support your decision," Parthenope said. "But I love you and I want you to be happy. So if being with Lana makes you happy, then I want you to go and be with her."  
They smile at each other before leaving the mall to go to the beach.  
\---  
Lana was hanging out near the rocks, this time by herself. "He loves me, he loves me not, he loves me," she said, pulling off the petals on the floor. She sighed sadly. "He doesn't love me."  
Harmony then swam over to her. "Ian is at the beach and he wants to see you," Harmony said, excitedly.  
"Are you sure he does?" Lana asked.  
"He really does," Harmony shouted. They then swim to the shore and they saw Ian and his friends. Ian and Lana smile at each other for a moment before Ian speaks up.  
"Lana, I really enjoyed our time together," Ian said. "And the more we were apart, the more I realized that. I guess I'm just trying to say that I really like you."  
"I like you to," Lana said, blushing. They then share a peck on the lips as the others cheer. They pull away, then they stared into each other's eyes. "But how are we going to make our relationship work? I can't go on land and you can't breathe underwater."  
"I can get some scuba gear that I can use until we find a permanent solution," Ian shrugged. The two of them then put their foreheads together, ready to give their relationship a second chance.


End file.
